


complimentaries from the aurora hotel

by xuxikr



Series: One Month, One Fic: 2019 [15]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Aged Up NCT Dream, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Boss/Employee Relationship, Eventual Romance, Fluff, Jeno's Cat, M/M, Renjun's Dog, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-07
Updated: 2019-12-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 02:00:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21639463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xuxikr/pseuds/xuxikr
Summary: Renjun moves into a new apartment for his pet dog and gets a new job to sustain his lifestyle. Along the way, he learns that cats and dogs can be friends, too.Alternatively, this is the story of subtle flirting and mild sexual tension.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Jeno
Series: One Month, One Fic: 2019 [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1396381
Comments: 34
Kudos: 379
Collections: ’00 FIC FEST: ROUND ONE





	complimentaries from the aurora hotel

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt #0097

Renjun loves his new place.

It’s spacious, has an extra room and a sizeable living area enough for when his friends decide to come and crash. The kitchen is decent too, compared to the small corner he had in his studio apartment, this one is an entire area where he can already envision cooking a lot. And, more importantly, this building allows its tenants to have pets.

His puppy, Amber, is the only reason why he moved into the apartment in the first place. Renjun has never planned to get a dog, but one fateful night of walking home from work brought him to an abandoned puppy like a movie. It’s fate, Renjun thinks—because he’s never been less lonely now that he has Amber with him.

But his studio apartment can only hide the puppy for so long. Amber’s growing up a lot and _fast_ so before Renjun’s landlady finds out about him sneaking a puppy into the building, he decides to move to a place where pets are allowed. And, sure, it’s more expensive, and it’s exactly the reason why Renjun went for a new job with higher pay, but he makes it _work_. To him, there’s no better sight than Amber running around his legs as he pushes boxes of his things inside the new apartment.

“Amber,” Renjun calls when he notices Amber missing. He has just finished hauling the box labeled ‘fragile’ (which are just the many tea sets Jaemin has gifted to him for his birthdays) into his apartment and is about to close the door when he realizes that his puppy is missing.

Amber has a penchant for sneaking into small places, despite her large stature, always ever curious and adventurous. So Renjun steps out of his apartment, hands on his hips as he calls out to her again. “Amber!”

“Get out!” Two doors down, there’s a commotion and Renjun is hit with the realization as he sees the streak of brown that runs out of his neighbor’s apartment.

It’s Amber.

“Amber!” Renjun runs towards the direction of his neighbor’s apartment, crouching down as Amber comes to cower towards him. She butts his head against his chest, yipping softly against him.

“Is she yours?” Renjun looks in front of him and is met with the sight of bare feet and a grey cat wrapped around his neighbor’s ankles. The cat’s looking at Amber curiously, so Renjun ever so slowly raises his head to look at who’s asking.

Who he’s met with is the personification of _Attractive_. Not to be shallow, but the way his blond undercut is swept messily to the side, glasses perched on top his high nose, his jawline so sharp it can cut through glass, hits Renjun right where it hurts—right at that part of his stupid brain that goes on overdrive when it comes to good looking boys.

The neighbor clears his throat, dark eyebrows meeting in a crease in his forehead. Renjun berates himself for staring. “So? Is it yours?”

Now. Renjun doesn’t like the way this neighbor talks to him, or the way he talks to Amber. So Renjun stands up, chin held high and his knees almost buckle at their height difference. Great—he’s good-looking _and_ tall.

But—like all boys, they stop being attractive to Renjun once they open their mouth.

“Yes—and I’d like to apologize. She’s just a puppy and we just moved in—”

“Well… the building allows pets as long as they don’t go running around the hallways entering other apartments. Just letting you know.” The neighbor sounds cold as if he doesn’t like the sight of Amber but Amber is wagging her tail happily as she moves forward to smell the cat around the stranger’s ankles.

Okay. Renjun has just moved in, he doesn’t want to start on the wrong foot so he takes the high road—as much as the high road can take him. “I think Amber likes your cat.” Renjun says, as amiable as possible.

The stranger grumbles and picks his cat up from the floor, cradling it in his arms as he pets it along its back. “Bongshik doesn’t like dogs.” His neighbor pivots on his heel, taking the cat with him that ends up with Amber yipping sadly by his ankles.

Renjun frowns. He tried his best.

He sighs and pets Amber to console her. “Let’s go home, Amber. Don’t do that again okay? That neighbor’s a meanie. Don’t want you anywhere near him, okay?”

🐶🐱

Renjun wakes up to a crashing noise somewhere in his kitchen. The noise startles him awake, falling off of his bed and scrambling to pick up whatever kind of weaponry he has next to him in the worst-case scenario of it being a burglar (he picks up his lamp).

He doesn’t hear Amber barking, then again, Amber being a Samoyed has the natural instinct to be friendly. She’d probably wag her tail and smile at the burglar, _if_ it is a burglar.

He tiptoes quietly to his kitchen, his lamp raised in an offensive stance in the case that he needs to swing it immediately. He’s of shorter stature than most men, but Renjun has trust in his grip and swing power. He _can_ knock out anyone with this brass lamp, that’s for sure.

But the sight he’s met with in the kitchen makes him lower the lamp in awe. It’s not a burglar, nor is it even a person. It’s Amber, standing on her hind legs as she yips at the cat on his kitchen sink.

Renjun’s brows crease together in the middle of his forehead as he stares at the cat, who stares back at him with its big eyes. It takes a while, but he finally realizes to whom this cat belongs to. Attractive grumpy neighbor.

“Bongshik?” Renjun puts his lamp down on the kitchen island, approaches the cat warily as it meows at him calling her name. Amber is by his side now, standing on her hind legs again as she asks to be lifted up. Renjun asks her to sit, and sit she does.

“How did you even get here?” He asks the cat, not expecting it to reply to him as he plucks it off his kitchen sink. He sees his dishes that have fallen into the kitchen and sighs inwardly. He’s made sure to close his doors and windows, so how come his neighbor’s cat barged into his apartment?

Bongshik meows at him again, resting comfortably in his arms as he walks away from the sink and out to his front door, Amber following in tow as they make their way to his neighbor’s door.

🐶🐱

Two doors down—if Renjun remembers correctly, that’s where Grumpy Attractive Neighbor resides. He has Bongshik comfortably nestling in his arms so he tries his best to press the doorbell without allowing to fall down from his hold.

He waits for a few seconds, but there’s no reply. So Renjun presses the doorbell again.

No response.

Amber makes a sound by his feet, her head tilted to the side curiously as she watches Renjun press on the doorbell insistently without receiving any reply from the apartment’s resident. Renjun looks down at Amber with his lips pressed together, hands raised mid-air as he decides to rap against the door if the doorbell isn’t working.

“What?”

Before his fist even lands on the door, the person on the other side pushes it open, causing Renjun to step back a couple of steps in his surprise.

It’s his neighbor, dressed down for sleep with his pyjama pants hanging loosely around his waist. His muscle tee is pulled to the side due to the sleep, his blond hair is even messier at this hour of the night. His eyes are barely open, his knuckle coming to rub at his eyes. _Why_ must Renjun be cursed with being attracted to cute boys with nasty personalities?

“What do you need?”

“Cat,” Renjun manages to let out, holding out Bongshik in front of his neighbor’s eyes. “Your cat… snuck into my apartment.”

The sight of his cat that’s very much not in his apartment has his neighbor shaken awake for sure. His eyes, half-closed due to being awake suddenly are blown open as Renjun plops the cat into his neighbor’s arms. Bongshik doesn’t seem to mind being moved.

Bongshik purrs in his owner’s hold, as his neighbor stares dumbfoundedly at Renjun, then to his cat, then back to Renjun again. All the colorful words Renjun has practiced at the back of his mind to tell his neighbor off has been flushed down the drain at the sight of his unfortunately attractive neighbor. Renjun only remembers to speak when Amber hits her wagging tail against Renjun’s leg.

“Well,” Renjun clears his throat at the staring stranger, “she woke me up in the middle of the night. And I remember you telling me that the building allows pets as long as they don’t go sneaking into other people’s apartments?”

The neighbor tenses at Renjun’s words, and Renjun knows that he has the upper hand this time. “I hope this will be the last time we interact, have a good night.”

And maybe Renjun doesn’t really wish that, all because Amber has taken a liking to the cat and Bongshik is actually kind of okay. That’s all. It’s all because of Amber and no other reason.

🐶🐱

His new work at the Aurora Hotel has assigned him to the PR team of the company. It’s a huge difference from his reception duty at the previous resort he’s worked at, but it gives him a bigger career advantage and here, he can utilize his graphic design knowledge as well. All in all, it’s been a win-all situation for him.

Although Renjun can deal with greeting people and dealing with the problems of their customers, Renjun thinks he prefers office work. It gives him a chair, which is good for his back, and minimal contact with people. It’s peaceful.

His first day isn’t interesting so far. He got through the orientation earlier in the morning, and his new co-workers have welcomed him warmly into the office. One co-worker stood out the most, whose name is Donghyuck with bright orange hair. He wonders if that’s even allowed but Donghyuck’s personality is as loud as his hair, it’s only fitting he’s this vibrant.

The office he’s working at is bigger compared to any other offices Renjun has worked at during his many menial jobs. Each worker has their cubicles and Renjun plans to decorate his own with many, _many_ , pictures of Amber.

But at the end of the office, there’s a space separated by a partition. It’s an office too, but the lights are off and no one has arrived to claim that spot. Renjun figures that must be where the boss does their work, and frankly, Renjun can’t wait to meet his boss.

He rolls his chair closer to Donghyuck, whose cubicle is next to him and leans forward to ask. “Hey, Donghyuck?”

Donghyuck, who’s now eating lollipop out of nowhere (can this boy get more eccentric?), releases the candy with a pop as he looks at Renjun with utmost attention. “Yeah?”

“When’s our boss coming to the office?”

Just as if the heavens have heard him, divine intervention arrives. The door to the main office opens, and everyone stands up just as it opens.

Donghyuck scoffs, his nose scrunching up at the door as he reluctantly stands up, nodding towards the opening door. Renjun mirrors everyone else, standing up and flattening out his suit with his hands in a futile attempt to look more presentable.

“That’s our boss,” Donghyuck says, “my childhood best friend, Lee Jeno.”

Who appears behind the door makes Renjun’s stomach detach from his body wall and fall right to the floor. He has never felt like this in his entire life, his body going limp and he has to hold on to his chair as to not embarrass himself. He wants the ground to eat him right up, swallow him whole and never release him again.

His boss, Lee Jeno, is attractive grumpy neighbor and Renjun cannot believe his luck.

🐶🐱

When he had been younger, Renjun wanted to have invisibility as his superpower. He used to think that being invisible would help him in a lot of situations in life. Now, many years older since the first time he's decided that he wanted to be invisible, he still kind of wishes to be invisible.

Jeno looks around the office and bows back to the employees that bow their heads to him in greeting. Renjun does too, not entirely out of respect, but because he's absolutely embarrassed of himself.

“Hey Jen!” It’s only Donghyuck that greets him differently, the office falling back into their own stations as Jeno walks towards Donghyuck. Renjun shuffles, burying himself in his desk and opening up a random Excel tab on his desktop.

He hears, rather than sees, Jeno respond to Donghyuck’s awaiting high five. He doesn’t even know if Jeno is looking at him, frankly, he’s too scared to look up.

“Why are you late?” Donghyuck asks casually.

Jeno responds, “had breakfast with the family. Mark got home from Cebu trip, you know how they—and who’s this?”

Renjun slouches further.

“That?” Donghyuck laughs almost mockingly. “That’s Renjun, new guy. Shouldn’t you know if new people got assigned under your department, boss?”

The weight of Jeno’s stare at him is heavy, and Renjun feels it burn the back of his head. He knows he should stand up to greet his boss, but he doesn’t trust his knees right now.

“Renjun,” Donghyuck nudges his shoulder, “this is our boss, my dearest best friend, Jeno.”

Renjun stands up, his head in a slight bow to hide his face from Jeno’s sight but it’s no use. He hears the audible gasp from Jeno, the realization has dawned upon him. “Hi, Renjun.” Jeno greets him, a smile not present on his face but a tug on the side of his lips instead.

Renjun swallows. “Hi… um, sir.” He stutters out and he feels like an idiot for fumbling. “Nice to meet you?”

“Is something happening here?” Donghyuck asks, and Renjun realizes just how intuitive this person is.

Jeno shakes his head and shrugs. “Not at all, I just thought he looks familiar.”

Familiar. Yeah, of course—because he has said some very flowery words to his own boss. Renjun smiles and bows his head, fully this time. “I’ll work hard under your department, sir.”

His boss waves him off. “Do your best, Renjun.” He says, then leaves with, “come with me to the office, Hyuck.”

🐶🐱

“What do you mean you think your boss hates you? You’re not making much sense here.”

The moment he leaves Aurora Hotel, Renjun pulls his phone out to call his best friend, Jaemin. Jaemin’s always been ever supportive of him, and although sometimes Jaemin’s ideas can be quite ridiculous—he knows that Jaemin is always there to lend a listening ear or a crying shoulder when it all comes down to it.

“I told you,” Renjun says when he climbs into the bus to commute home, “he’s my neighbor! And when I was moving in, Amber crashed into his place because his door was open. The other day, his cat snuck into my apartment through god knows what hole and I woke him up in the middle of the night to return the cat, got a little… wordy.”

“Renjun,” Jaemin drawls from the other line, and from the sounds of it, he’s chewing on chips for dinner, “what exactly did you say to him?”

“I told him that I hope we never interact again.”

“Oh, Renjun.”

Renjun finds his seat at the back of the bus and plops down, sighing. “I know! I messed up, I don’t know what to do.”

“Yes you do, you just have to do your job and if he bullies you—go talk to HR about it.”

Renjun nibbles on his bottom lip, watching from the window as the Aurora Hotel fades away as the bus starts to move. Jaemin _has_ a point, but as someone who’s new to the job and wants to keep it so as to pay his bills and feed his pup, it sounds absolutely crazy to Renjun.

“You’re insane.” Renjun accuses. “Why would I do that?”

Jaemin sighs through his nose. “I said _if_ he bullies you. He won’t hear the end of it from the HR department and from me!”

Renjun scratches at the back of his head, pursing his lips as he remembers a detail Donghyuck told him today over lunch. Apparently, according to Donghyuck, he usually has lunch with Jeno but Jeno’s skipping lunch today—so, as someone who’s the same age as he is, Donghyuck has made it his mission to take Renjun under his wing.

Donghyuck also lets it slip that Jeno’s the son of the owner of Aurora Hotel, and has been helping around in the hotel ever since he’s eighteen. Jeno practically grew up with the hotel, and knows it inside and out. Renjun asks why Jeno doesn’t have a higher position in the office, but Donghyuck only shrugs, not letting Renjun in anymore on Jeno’s personal life—which he understands.

“He’s the son of the hotel’s owner. He has an older brother, and he’s the second child—Jaemin. He’s powerful, I don’t want to get sacked on my first week.”

Jaemin clicks his tongue through the receiver, the sound makes Renjun shudder. “I guess, right now—just do your job properly, which I know you will, _you_ perfectionist. Don’t think about your boss yet. He’s a butthead if he makes your life a living hell and _I_ will fight him.”

Sometimes, Renjun forgets that Jaemin is a literal lawyer.

Renjun laughs into the phone, feeling lighter now that he has talked to Jaemin. “Butthead? You know millions—no, billions of legal jargon and you call him a butthead?”

“Yes. Butthead.”

🐶🐱

This is probably the best thing about Renjun’s life—coming home to Amber welcoming him excitedly, her tail wagging all over the place as she stands up on hind legs to reach Renjun with her front legs.

Renjun always loves this part. It makes every tiring day worth it because he comes home to Amber who’s been waiting for him all day to come home. “Good girl,” he tells her as he pets her in between her ears, cooing at the pup that’s drooling all over his work pants.

“Okay, hold on—let me change out of this and we’ll get you dinner.”

Amber licks his face.

When he has changed out of his three-piece and into his favorite hoodie and sweatpants, both of which are too big for him, Renjun starts on dinner. He eats by the kitchen, where there’s a round dining table and Amber eats by the foot of the table.

“You know,” he starts to ramble, “that mean neighbor we met when we moved in?” Amber isn’t really paying attention, too focused on her food but Renjun just has to vent. “He’s my boss at my new job and I don’t know what to do.”

Amber finishes her food, walks up to her water bowl and laps up the contents.

“He’s just… I’m worried that he’ll treat me differently because of the things I’ve said to him in the past but that’s just so unprofessional you know? Amber—” He looks at Amber, who’s now padding away from him happily and back into the living room, “you’re not even listening—”

Somewhere in his living room, Renjun hears a distinct meow.

“What.”

As quickly as his feet can take him, Renjun rushes to the living room where Amber is trying to jump on his couch. And just as he has dreaded, there’s Bongshik sitting so comfortably on his couch as Amber nudges her nose with hers.

Bongshik only blinks at the dog.

“What are you doing here?” He asks, as if the cat will respond to him.

Bongshik only stares at him for a second, licks her paw and turns her attention back to Amber who’s happily running around circles, excited because of the cat’s presence.

The cat jumps off his couch, completely ignoring his existence as she proceeds to walk to Amber, who has lied down on the floor waiting for belly rubs. Bonghisk rubs her face against Amber’s tummy, before lying down right next to his dog.

“You are giving me so many problems right now, Bongshik.” He scolds the cat, only half-heartedly because the sight of Bongshik and Amber snuggled up together is too cute to get mad at.

He takes a photo, and saves it for a rainy day.

But he decides that Bongshik has to go, and that he has to find that hole somewhere in his new apartment so Bongshik doesn’t get to sneak in again. Now, he wonders if he has the same confidence and courage to knock at his boss’s door, face him, and tell him to take care of his cat properly.

He plucks Bongshik up from the floor, and Bongshik meows in his hold but doesn’t struggle away from him.

Amber follows him out, her little feet pattering against the floor as she looks up at Renjun, where he’s cradling Bongshik in his arms.

The way to Jeno’s apartment is almost memorized by now, his feet dragging him to the place without having to think about it. Only this time, Renjun’s brain is going on overdrive thinking of how to confront his boss regarding his cat.

Renjun finds himself staring at Jeno’s door again, his pet cat in his arms as he thinks of what to say. He comes up with nothing, and instead, he puts Bongshik on the floor, knocks on the door and runs back to his own apartment, Amber in tow.

He hopes for the best.

🐶🐱

One week later, work is _fine_.

It’s a fine as work can get. Jeno doesn’t stay outside of his office for a long time, so mostly, it’s just him and his coworkers conversing and working together, awaiting further instructions and approval from Jeno, their boss.

Right now, Renjun’s doing a presentation for an event he proposed a couple of days ago. He’s set to present it on Friday, it’s Thursday now.

Busy with his work, he doesn’t even realize that Minseok, one of the senior strategists, has nudged him with a manila folder. “Renjun,” Minseok lands the file on desk, “hand this to Jeno for me will you?”

Thoughts such as: _I’m not his secretary,_ and _this isn’t my job_ are running through Renjun’s mind at the request. But he suppresses them, presses his lips into a thin line and minimizes his Powerpoint window. “Sure, I got it.”

“Thanks! I owe you one.”

Minseok has always been a lovely boss, just the other day he was giving out homebaked cookies that his wife made too much of but right now, he goes below Donghyuck on Renjun’s list of most favorite coworkers.

With the folder held close to his chest, Renjun makes his way to Jeno’s office, every step he takes is heavy and it’s familiar to the feeling of walking up to Jeno’s office during the nights that Bongshik has ran into his apartment.

“What are you doing?”

The person that’s on top of Renjun’s list of favorite coworkers appear right before Jeno’s door, his expression a shade of distraught that Renjun has never seen on him. He’s had this impression that Donghyuck’s always been happy-go-lucky, that everyday of his life things go well for him. Today doesn’t seem to be one of those days. “Is everything okay?” Renjun gestures his head to Jeno’s office, eyebrows screwed together.

Donghyuck sighs and rolls his eyes. “Jeno’s throwing a bitch fit, are you going to give that file to him?” He eyes the folder in Renjun’s arms.

There’s only mild surprise upon hearing Donghyuck talk about Jeno like that. _They’re bestfriends_ , Renjun has to remind himself sometimes.

“Um,” there’s hesitance, “yeah, actually—Minseok asked me to take this to Jeno.”

Donghyuck has a smile on his face that’s almost wicked as he moves away from Jeno’s door, gesturing for Renjun to welcome himself inside. “Be my guest, then.”

“Donghyuck—” before Renjun can even whine at the other, Donghyuck has already skipped away from him, hand in his pockets as he walks away so nonchalantly as if he hasn’t been stressed to his core just a few minutes ago.

If a stressed Jeno can stress out Donghyuck, then Renjun doesn’t know what to expect as he knocks on the door and twists the knob, peeking inside with his head in a bow.

“What do you mean you still haven’t found Bongshik?! It’s been more than an entire day, are you sure you’re looking hard enough? What about the other neighborhood? This is your only job and you can’t even do it right—”

Jeno’s in the middle of a heated phone call when Renjun peeks in, and he’s about to exit when Jeno turns around and sees him.

Renjun doesn’t like the feeling that settles in the pit of his stomach after seeing the distress on Jeno’s face, and he doesn’t like the fact that he eavesdropped on his conversation. It’s about Bongshik, the cat that he has seen quite a few times roaming the halls of their apartment, and apparently, Amber’s bestfriend.

He still thinks about the picture on his phone of Bongshik and Amber sometimes, despite the fact that it’s been a few days since he’s last seen the cat. “Minseok asked me to give this to you—”

“Can’t you see I’m in the middle of a conversation right now?”

“Yes, I’m sorry I was just—”

“Just get out, Renjun.”

🐶🐱

Renjun tries to rationalize it.

Jeno’s stressed, his cat is missing and work is piling on top of everything else. He decides to give him the benefit of the doubt this time. After all, Renjun doesn’t know what he might do if Amber ever gets lost. He might not even function enough to get out of bed if that happens.

Speaking of—when he gets home that night, Amber’s lying down by the door of his apartment, and it’s usually because she’s waiting for Renjun to come home but even as Renjun has tried to pet her, Amber stays unmoving.

“Is everything okay, girl?” He drops his bag to the side and pets the dog behind its ears, Amber only mewls sadly, leaning against his touch.

“Don’t tell me you’re sad over Bongshik too?” Renjun asks, remembering how on edge Bongshik’s absence has made his boss to be. Amber barks at the mention of Bongshik and Renjun surprises himself at the response.

If Renjun thinks about it, _really_ thinks about it, he has suspicions that Bongshik has snuck into his apartment multiple times during the times when he was at work. There’s the random ball of cat hair, Amber always waiting for something by the door even though Renjun has come back home. Maybe, his boss’s and his pets have been getting along better than he thinks.

“Bongshik?” Renjun asks again, and it causes Amber to bark and nuzzle her snout into Renjun’s arms, making sad sounds that breaks Renjun’s heart.

“Yeah, bud. You’re not the only one missing her.” Renjun consoles her, thinking about Jeno who must be worried sick about his cat.

Amber pulls away from him, her eyes big in her classic puppy eyes, the one she uses when she doesn’t want to take her bath, when she wants some of Renjun’s food and when she wants to sleep on Renjun’s bed. It’s all very familiar, and Renjun always finds it hard to say no to Amber.

Even though Amber isn’t asking for anything, Renjun already knows what to do.

🐶🐱

Because Jeno is on edge, the rest of the office is also on edge. With that being mostly Donghyuck. And when Donghyuck is on edge, Renjun, who sits right next to him is also on edge. 

It’s a vicious cycle.

“Like, no offense, it’s just a cat?”

Renjun pulls away from his keyboard and frowns at Donghyuck. “It’s not just a cat, it’s _his_ cat. Pets can be life-long friends too, Donghyuck.”

Donghyuck scratches his head with the end of his pen. “So you have a cat too?”

“No, it’s a dog, a Samoyed to be exact.” Renjun tells him as he pulls the polaroid of Amber that he has stuck at the side of his computer screen and hands it to Donghyuck. “See?”

Donghyuck accepts the photo and coos, a smile lighting up his face. “Okay, maybe you have a point because your dog is so cute, meanwhile, Bongshik—”

“I think she’s very nice.”

“What?”

That’s how it begins. Renjun tells Donghyuck that he lives across Jeno and their pets have become some sort of friends, but he omits the part where he had an unpleasant interaction with Jeno. He really doesn’t want to relive the memory, and he really doesn’t want to tell Donghyuck that part.

Surprisingly, Donghyuck takes it quite easily. The information doesn’t seem to be a shock to Donghyuck and that, Renjun finds more surprising.

“Wow so like, your dog and Jeno’s cat are lovers now?”

“What?”

“I mean, they’re friends now, best friends forever that type of stuff.”

Renjun laughs, shaking his head. It’s work hours, they shouldn’t be chatting about their pets and Renjun should be practicing for his presentation but here they are. “If Bongshik doesn’t show up soon, then I’ll doubt they’ll be best friends for a long time.”

Donghyuck lifts his shoulders and breathes out of his nose, Renjun opens up his presentation again and rehearses in his head. He finishes the third slide when Donghyuck pipes up with an idea that Renjun has been thinking about since last night.

“Why don’t you ask Jeno if you can help look for Bongshik?”

🐶🐱

For a first timer, Renjun does his presentation quite well. The conference room is big enough for the team, all eyes are on him but Renjun reminds himself that he has prepared enough for this and there is no need to be worried. It works out in the end, because the conference room is clapping for him by the end of his presentation.

And although Jeno tries to be professional, listens and asks appropriate questions, Renjun senses that he’s quite not into as into it as Renjun would hope.

“Good work, Renjun.” Jeno says at the end of the meeting, and Renjun sees the crescent eyes again. “You did very well, make sure that everyone receives a soft copy of the plan. We’ll get to work next week.”

His chest swells with pride at Jeno’s praise, Donghyuck at the side gives him two thumbs up and a wide grin. “Yes, of course, I’ll make sure of that, sir.”

Jeno dismisses the meeting, and eventually, everyone disperses outside. Donghyuck claps him on the shoulder and whispers a reminder of his plan on his way out. Which, just involves Renjun asking Jeno if he can help look for Bongshik. Apparently, Jeno has been out all night looking for Bongshik and has hired a private investigator to look for her.

Of course, given his short history with Jeno, he has qualms about it. However, Donghyuck tells him that Jeno is actually an angel incarnate, no matter what his image or vibe might tell.

It’s worth a shot, after all, Amber’s happiness also lies in this situation.

Renjun’s gathering his things before he leaves the conference room, and Renjun’s only noticing now that Jeno’s waiting for everyone else to go before he exits. He wonders why that is.

“Take your time,” Jeno says, “lock the door when you leave, though.”

Renjun stuffs his laptop into the bag and nods, not making eye contact.

He takes glances at Jeno from his periphery, and he sees Jeno looking at his phone with his eyebrows knitted together. Renjun knows that this is the best timing, and he should grab the chance when he has it right in front of his face.

Renjun closes his eyes, inhales and gathers every bit of courage he has as he zips up his bag. “I can help you look for Bongshik.”

Renjun doesn’t dare open his eyes, until Jeno speaks up and Renjun is forced to look him in the eye. “What?”

“Bongshik… I heard that she’s lost and… my dog… Amber she… they’re friends and she misses her so I was wondering if… if I can help you look for Bongshik?”

Jeno’s momentarily confused, tilting his head to the side and it reminds Renjun very much of the times that Amber has stared at him in confusion. “You’re telling me that Bongshik is friends with your dog?”

Renjun nods. “Yes, for some reason, I don’t know, she has snuck inside my apartment more than once and Amber has been waiting for something by the door ever since she got lost. I think she’s been waiting for her to come back too.”

Jeno seems to think about it for a moment, and Renjun fiddles with his thumb in anticipation. He hopes that asking this hasn’t just cost him his job. Then again, he’s just offering help, isn’t he? It shouldn’t be that bad.

“When was the last time you saw her?”

“More than a week ago, I guess? But I have suspicions that she sneaks into my apartment while I’m… we’re at work because she leaves cat hair around.”

Jeno smiles at the mention of the cat hair. Renjun finds himself smiling, too.

“Can you come meet me after work? So we can discuss this?”

Renjun offers a smile, this time, with teeth and all. “Of course, yeah.”

🐶🐱

When Jeno tells him that he wants to discuss this after work, Renjun expects it to be in some coffee shop or restaurant as with most outside of the office meetings go. But it’s late, and Jeno has offered to drive him home, and although with much resistance from Renjun, it doesn’t win over Jeno’s insistence and reasoning that goes: “We still have to talk, right?”

He figures that _it is_ convenient and efficient if they go home together but he still feels odd getting into Jeno’s fancy car with the doors that go up instead of to the side when it opens. He keeps his hands to himself when he gets in, minimizing the space he’s occupying so he doesn’t accidentally break anything.

“Right,” Jeno begins when he slides into the driver’s seat. Jeno presses a button and the car door goes down. Renjun suppresses his amazement.

Jeno looks at him and Renjun looks back at him too, eyebrows raised in confusion before it’s replaced by shock when Jeno leans forward towards him, his face met with Jeno’s chest and Renjun hasn’t even realized that he’s holding his breath until Jeno has back down on his seat.

“Seatbelt,” Jeno gestures to the band that’s now holding Renjun tight. Right, of course.

It’s only now that Renjun is reminded of his first impression of Jeno, coldhearted and good-looking. Perhaps he isn’t as coldhearted as he originally thought—as for the good-looking part, that remains unchanged and maybe, just maybe, the thought has now become more… supported.

“So, when did you last see Bongshik again?” Jeno asks when he starts driving, the attention on the road as he gets out of the parking space and Renjun tries his very hardest not to take glances at Jeno driving. It’s making him think _weird_ thoughts.

“Last week, she was at my apartment so I picked her up and sent her back… I was the person that rang your doorbell.” Renjun admits bashfully.

Jeno’s blond hair that’s always been styled up has now been a little mussed up, tufts of hair are out of order but he still manages to pull it off. It’s the things that Renjun shouldn’t be noticing about his boss, but he’s been fighting a losing battle since getting inside his car.

“Ah,” Jeno lets out, “I thought it was someone pranking me, I had an inkling it was you, though.”

Renjun laughs, relaxing more now as he gets to spend more time with Jeno. “How did you come up with that conclusion?”

“You’re the only one who’s brave enough to storm into my apartment complaining about my cat?”

The streetlights come into view, the skyline of Seoul with tall buildings are welcoming the car into the dark night. Renjun will stop and look at the stars if he isn’t so embarrassed talking to Jeno so casually like this.

“I want to apologize for that, sir.” Renjun speaks up, and Jeno makes a curious sound from the back of his throat. Although Renjun keeps his eyes ahead on the road, he sees Jeno glance at him from his periphery.

“For?”

“For being so rude and saying that I hope we never get to interact again? I wasn’t thinking straight and it was really mean of me to say…”

Jeno laughs, and if Renjun isn’t wrong, this is the first time he has actually heard Jeno laugh, all that cold exterior Renjun thought he had is melting down quite fast. “No, I want to apologize too. I was quite rude during our first meeting as well and I don’t take it against you that you had the need to treat me with the same hostility.”

Renjun purses his lips and scratches his arm. “It’s okay, I guess that makes us even?”

“Yes. And, Renjun?”

“Yes, sir?”

“Just call me Jeno, at least, when we’re outside of the office.”

_Jeno_. It’s only now that Renjun is reminded of the fact that they are of the same age (thanks, Donghyuck), and Renjun doesn’t mind getting rid of the formalities after work hours are done.

“Okay, _Jeno_. Let’s go find your cat, okay?”

Talking to Jeno once he has gone past that exterior that he has been so deathly afraid of comes easy. The fact that Jeno has good music taste also helps the atmosphere (he let Renjun play EXO!) of their conversation. Although Renjun still hears the distress in his voice when talking about Bongshik and their plans for tomorrow, it’s good to see Jeno smiling despite the worry.

Renjun learns that Jeno has sacked the private investigator to look for Bongshik because he thinks that he hasn’t been taking the matter seriously, so Jeno has taken it upon himself to look for Bongshik before and after work. The weekend is a perfect time for them to look for her all day, with all meetings cancelled and moved to the next work week.

They plan their itinerary for tomorrow. First on the list is the printing shop that Jeno has placed an order on for missing posters of Bongshik, and Renjun takes it upon himself to look at the map of their neighborhood and plan their journey for tomorrow. He has also volunteered to post Bongshik’s photo on social media to get more traction for their cause, it astounds Renjun how Jeno hasn’t thought of going to social media before for help.

“I don’t really have social media accounts.” Jeno tells him at the elevator on the way up to their floor, bags of food on each of their hands from the restaurant that Renjun has recommended on their way home.

“Really? In this day and age? That’s crazy.”

“But I _do_ have messaging apps. Kakaotalk, Messenger, Viber, WhatsApp, all that stuff.”

“Not even Instagram or anything? I feel like everyone and their moms have Instagram.”

Jeno shakes his head, and lets Renjun exit out of the elevator first when the door opens. “Nope, well Donghyuck did create a Tinder profile for me once, but I believe he has since deleted that account.”

Renjun snorts, almost doubling over in laughter before they part ways. “A Tinder profile for you? Now, that’s something I’d like to see.”

Jeno raises a brow. “Hopefully you won’t swipe left?”

The gears in Renjun’s brain are turning, and it’s been a second too long before what’s supposed to be his properly timed response for a good rapport so he settles for whatever that comes out of his mouth. “At least you know the mechanics of Tinder, that’s a relief.”

Jeno laughs, rubs his nape and shakes his head. “I guess, yeah.”

There's an awkward silence, just them standing in front of each other and Renjun can’t stand it, so he breaks it with a newfound confidence. “See you tomorrow? I’ll send you the map later tonight, after I eat and shower—but you didn’t need to know that, I’ll get going now…”

Jeno waves it off good-naturedly, the crescent moon eye smiles lifts some weight off of Renjun’s shoulders. If anyone told Renjun last week that he’d be on good terms with his attractive grumpy neighbor, also known as his boss, he probably would have laughed at their face.

But it’s real now, and Renjun watches as Jeno disappears into his own apartment, reminding Renjun that he too should go into his own.

When he enters his apartment, there’s Amber waiting right by the door for him and he collapses right on top of her, barely managing to salvage his food as he sighs out. “You won’t believe what happened today, Amber.”

🐶🐱

**Huang Renjun** **➤** **HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION**  
3 mins

🚨 MISSING 🚨

Has anyone seen this cat?

She responds to the name Bongshik and was last seen at Block 7D about three days ago. She likes to wander around, she usually comes back but hasn’t appeared since then.

If you’ve seen her around, please contact me through Messenger or call these numbers!

010 4325 7854  
010 0122 1332

**Na Jaemin  
**Since when did you have a cat?  
**Na Jaemin  
**Whose number is that?

🐶🐱

He has had a good sleep.

That is, after he has sent Jeno their itinerary for tomorrow and where it will be best to put up the posters and hand out the flyers. Their neighborhood isn’t that big, so Bongshik could have gone anywhere if Jeno has already looked around the neighborhood. So for today, they’re extending even towards the nearby blocks just to make sure of her safety.

He spent the last night too talking to Jeno on Kakaotalk, and frankly, he doesn’t remember much of what they’ve talked about other than Renjun teaching Jeno where to find the stickers. Jeno’s been sending quite the most amusing ones since then.

His post on the Facebook group of their neighborhood seems to be getting more traction, other than Jaemin bombarding him with questions he still hasn’t answered, there are people saying that they will be on the lookout for the cat and have also shared the post on their profiles. Renjun has high hopes for this.

Today, he gives Amber her breakfast and heads to the printing shop Jeno told him. Apparently, Jeno’s going to drop by somewhere first and he’ll meet him there. Renjun arrives on time, and the lady behind the counter greets him.

He mentions Jeno and she informs him that the posters are ready before disappearing into the back door to get them, Renjun wonders where Jeno has gone and debates texting him that he has arrived. Before he can even pull out his phone, the door to the printing shop opens to reveal Jeno clad in cycling gear.

“What?” Renjun lets out in mild surprise, eyes running over Jeno’s outfit. He’s in athleisure, a helmet tucked underneath his arm and the usual slicked back hair rests softly upon his forehead. It’s cute, almost.

“I grabbed my bicycle.” Jeno explains, setting his helmet down on the counter. “Where are the posters?”

Renjun peeks above Jeno’s shoulder, and sees the bicycle parked right outside the shop. It’s _those_ big and expensive ones, like the mountain bikes Jaemin has always raved about, with a seat on the back and another helmet hanging off it. Is Jeno’s plan perhaps…

“You want me to backride on your bike?”

Jeno stops looking around the shop and blinks at him, as if he has just realized that he hasn’t told Renjun about this teensy detail. “If you want to? I just figured that we could move faster and more efficiently around the area on a bike than on just walking, but if you’re opposed to the idea then—”

“No,” Renjun says, and thinks back to the last time has ridden on the back of someone’s bike. It’s in highschool, when he had been dating this guy… he tries not to associate this moment with that memory. “It’s okay, it’s fine, you’re right.”

The printing shop lady comes back from where she left with an armful of missing posters. Jeno smiles at her and bows his head in greeting.

“Good luck finding your cat,” she says, smiling at the two of them and Renjun gives a smile back, “I saw your post in the Facebook group, you guys must be so devastated to lose her. I’m sure she’ll come around, cats are always like this.”

Flustered, Renjun rushes to explain. “Actually, it’s just—”

“Thank you,” Jeno cuts him off, and Renjun stares at him in surprise. “We have to get going now, have a great day.” Jeno grabs the posters, his helmet, and heads out, with Renjun following him in haste and bidding his goodbye to the store owner.

He runs after Jeno, who has now reached his bike and is dumping the posters into the basket of his bike. “Why’d you stop me when I was correcting her?” Renjun asks just as Jeno turns around to hand him the helmet. He wonders if Jeno has always had an extra one.

“It would take too long to explain to her why you’re helping me.” Jeno explains coolly, slotting the helmet onto his head and fastening the lock. He grabs the handles of his bike and gets on it, cocking his head to the direction of the backseat. “Get on.”

Renjun wears the helmet, and stares at the backseat. “How should I get on this?”

“Is this your first time backriding?”

“No, I just… I’m used to doing it with someone I’m close to and I didn’t want to step over your personal boundaries or anything.”

“Just do it comfortably, and if I’m not comfortable, I’ll let you know.”

Renjun takes a deep breath and gets into position, with both of his legs on one side of the bike and tentatively wrapping his arms Jeno’s waist. He feels his heart skip a beat, the taut muscles of Jeno’s abdomen press against his arms and Renjun tries so very hard not to get embarrassed. Jeno did tell him to do it comfortably after all, and this is how Renjun is used to backriding.

“Don’t let me fall,” he threatens, but without much meaning to it, “or else.”

“Or else what?” Jeno laughs audibly, turning his head around to look at him and Renjun can’t help the pout on his face, the _audacity_ of Jeno to make fun of him.

“Just _go._ ” He says, squeezing Jeno’s middle a little.

Jeno laughs and drives off. The wind in Renjun’s face overwhelms him, but something more overwhelming blooms in the pit of his stomach. He thinks he has a name for it, for this feeling, but Renjun doesn’t want to entertain the thought.

At least, not yet.

🐶🐱

"Do you have nothing else better to do on a Saturday morning?"

Renjun almost drops the flyers in his hands, his eyes flying from Bongshik's face on the paper to Jeno, who is now avoiding eye contact.

"Why does that sound like an insult?" Renjun laughs awkwardly, scratching the back of his ear.

"I'm not—not trying to insult you, I was just wondering why… you volunteered, even though you can spend your time any way you like." Jeno seems flustered, only now realizing how his statement must have come off.

Renjun laughs, shaking his head as he continues to paste the poster on the electricity post. "I wanted to help you, and Amber really misses her that's why I wanted to quickly help you find her. And I do have better things to do on a Saturday morning, I have a life you know?"

Jeno is laughing now too, recovering from the earlier embarrassment. "That's why I'm thankful."

"Can you stop thanking me?" Renjun remarks but without much bite to it. "Just… accept my help, think of it like whenever Donghyuck helps you out for something."

Jeno nods, smiles and continues to work with the posters.

Spending the past few hours with Jeno has taught Renjun a few things. First is how high his tolerance for dry jokes are, and second, is how easy it is for Jeno to make Renjun forget that he is his immediate superior at work. Renjun isn't sure if they are friends now, or if they are neighbors being friendly after starting off the wrong foot—whichever it is, Renjun has a good feeling about this.

Other than putting up the posters on public spaces, Renjun also suggested handing them out to people to get more coverage. And while his suggestion was met with shock and confusion from Jeno, it's quite entertaining to see his boss that's been sheltered his whole life hand out missing cat posters to people. It reminds Renjun of his first part-time job.

He's sitting on a bench to recuperate because Jeno said he can hand out the flyers himself and he wanted to _know_ how it's like to hand out flyers. Jeno is doing pretty well despite the inexperience. Everyone that he has approached so far has accepted the posters and has welcomed him with warm hearts. Some have even cooed at the cat, and from where Renjun is sitting, he can tell that someone even tried flirting with Jeno.

It must be the attractive people privilege.

He picks up the water bottle he procured from a nearby convenience store and jogs to where Jeno is standing. "Hey," Renjun greets, tossing the bottle to Jeno which he catches with fast reflexes, "you still alright?"

Jeno nods and Renjun catches the way he wipes his sweat with the back of his hand. Renjun almost pities him but remembers all the time he had to do this same thing but inside a mascot costume because he had been the only one small enough to fit. The pity goes away almost instantaneously.

"All good, except that last person just definitely tried to hit on me." Jeno cocks his head to the direction the person is headed to, and Renjun squints through the sunlight to see.

He laughs, looking back at Jeno. "I see why they would."

"Huh?"

Renjun pauses, shock registering when he realizes what he has said. It seems that he has left his brain to mouth filter at home, with Amber keeping it safe.

Jeno has a brow raised, the beginning of a teasing smile tugging at the edge of his lips. Renjun berates himself, reminds himself that Jeno is his boss and he needs to stop acting up if he doesn't want shit to hit the fan.

Then again, he wouldn't be Renjun if he doesn't want to have the upper hand. Plus, they are off work anyway, it's completely ethical to flirt with his attractive grumpy neighbor isn't? "What? Never had anyone call you cute before?"

The teasing smile is wiped away from Jeno's expression with the simple question, it's exchanged for the surprised sound he lets out, and the distinct pink that dusts his cheeks. Renjun feels his head swell with confidence.

"You know what, I think we should get lunch. You seem kind of lightheaded." Jeno dismisses the topic not-so smoothly and Renjun can't help the laugh he lets out even if he tried.

He follows right behind Jeno when he walks to his bike, and when he gestures for Renjun to hop on, Renjun diligently puts his helmet on and wraps his arms around Jeno's middle. If he does it much firmer this time around, Jeno doesn't say anything.

Jeno leads him to a restaurant not too far from where they are, and for a moment, Renjun worries about his wallet and his boss's expensive taste. After all, he has just started working and he hasn't received his salary yet. He has to live smart.

"This place looks expensive." Renjun comments as Jeno parks his bike, the helmets coming off too. Their ride is a stark contrast to the cars and motorcycles in the area, the place stands tall in the middle of the residential area and Renjun feels his stomach grumble. If it's from hunger or from anxiety about spending money, he isn't so sure.

"Don't worry, it's my treat."

🐶🐱

As much as Renjun hates to be a freeloader and as much as he has insisted to split the bill when they're done, Jeno resists and tells him to order anything he likes. He even ordered lobster soup for Renjun because he thinks it's the best in the menu—for Renjun, money wise, he might disagree.

Their clothing that's fit for casual walks in the park or jogs around the neighborhood is completely unfit for the ambience of the restaurant. And he’s sure that they’re lucky they arrived earlier than the lunch hour so it’s just them, a table full of middle-aged people dressed in their best, and a couple who seem to be arguing about something that Renjun isn’t too interested to know.

“This place is fancy.” Renjun comments on the obvious as he looks around, tapping his fingers nervously on the table. The waiter has just disappeared with their order and promises that it will come in the next few minutes.

Jeno only shrugs and pulls out his phone, scrolling through it as he squints at the phone screen. “It’s not _that_ fancy. My brother co-owns this restaurant, you should see the other restaurants he has up.”

Brother. Renjun vaguely remembers Donghyuck telling him about the older brother but he hasn’t really been paying much attention to gossip. It’s only now that Renjun gets reminded of the fact that Jeno is rich, as in, a part of a probably long line of businessmen family and soon—he’ll probably see him in Forbes magazine, sitting on top of the list of the world’s billionaires.

He remembers Jaemin telling him something, it speaks to him like an annoying bee buzzing right by his ear. _“It’s hard to flirt with someone of a different social status, especially the rich guys.”_

_“What are you talking about?”_

_“Tastes! Standard! That’s why I only date colleagues.”_

_“You don’t make any sense.”_

He must have gotten way too distracted with his thoughts because he jumps when his phone rings in his pocket, garnering Jeno's attention, along with most of the restaurant.

He takes his phone out of his pocket, awfully aware of the eyes on him and he gasps when he sees the caller ID. It's Jaemin.

"Everything okay?" Jeno asks and Renjun nods frantically.

"I just need to answer this phone call, is that okay?"

Jeno nods and busies himself with his phone again. Renjun stands up to answer the call, rushing to the corner far enough so Jeno can’t hear the conversation.

“What?” He greets.

“You haven’t been replying to my text messages, I thought you _died_.” Jaemin speaks from the other line, his voice whiney and a little bit rough. “What’s going on? Why are you looking for a cat?”

Renjun debates whether to tell Jaemin or not, but the again, he can’t hide anything from Jaemin even if he tried. “It’s my boss’s cat.” He says, as if the will suffice.

Of course, it wouldn’t, because Jaemin lets out a gasp so loud he’s afraid that the entire restaurant may start listening on in their conversation. “What? The boss that you thought hated you? What’s next, you’re going to look for the cat around the neighborhood with him?”

“Um,”

“ _No,_ ” Jaemin lets out in horror, “Renjun—no… you didn’t, did you?”

Renjun laughs, covering his mouth with his hand so no one sees—if Jeno sees him laughing on the phone and asks why, he doesn’t know how to answer. “I did… but it’s only because Amber likes his cat, Jaemin! Amber has been missing her too since she went missing and you know, two heads are always better than one?”

“Is that really all, Renjun? I looked him up you know—it’s not hard to find the family that owns the Aurora Hotel and let me tell you, if you didn’t already call dibs on him, I would’ve tapped that—”

“Jaemin!” Renjun scolds, he feels himself flare up from the neck up at the thought. Sure, he thinks Jeno is handsome that is already on the table, and he has a great personality to boot and they’re actually getting along quite better than he ever imagined—but…

He doesn’t want to recognize that Jaemin knows him better than he knows himself.

“Shut up, Jaemin. I have to go, okay?”

“You’re with him, aren’t you? Going to a fancy restaurant for lunch?”

“Jaemin!”

“I’m just kidding, Injun. I’m just looking out for you, you know that right? Be careful, don’t let nasty capitalists get the best of you.”

He laughs into the phone’s receiver, raking a hand through his hair as he nods as if Jaemin can see. “Of course, Jaemin. Fuck capitalism, am I right?”

“Yup, fuck capitalism. Talk to you later! I have to rush to this client meeting.”

“Good luck, and have fun I hope?”

“Yeah, you too. Love you! Tell Jeno I think he’s hot!”

“Stop! I love you too.”

Jaemin ends the call with obscene kissing noises, and Renjun shoves his phone back into his pocket. When he returns to the table, there’s Jeno looking at him curiously, with a small smile on his face, lips pressed into a thin line.

Renjun drags his chair out to sit back down, raising a questioning brow at Jeno. “What?”

Hesitation flickers in Jeno’s expression for a moment, then he inhales—exhales. “Boyfriend?”

Renjun almost chokes on his own spit at the laughter he lets out in response to Jeno’s one-worded question. Sure, there have been times when he made out with Jaemin out of pure drunkenness and touch starvation, but he has never considered being Jaemin’s boyfriend—or even thinking of Jaemin like that. It sends a shudder down his spine.

“No!” He denies vehemently, shaking his head as he gets over from his laughter. Jeno seems confused and flustered at the same time, but there’s a relieved sound that he lets out at the answer. “It’s… he’s Jaemin, my best friend since high school. He was just asking where I was, that’s all. I’d rather die than date him.”

“Oh,” Jeno says, nods and smiles. “I see.”

The conversation is stopped abruptly when their food arrives, and Renjun’s eyes go wide at how Jeno defines this food as not fancy. He’d have to save up for quite some time just to afford this but Jeno treated him to food just like that.

Renjun tries to not marvel at it so much but thanks the waiter once he has served them. He looks at Jeno, then at the food, then at Jeno again. “Thanks,” he mumbles, “you didn’t have to treat me, really.”

“I told you,” Jeno says, and Renjun knows that it’s the end of this debate, “I wanted to thank you for helping me look for Bongshik.”

“Then, it’s no problem at all.”

🐶🐱

Their Saturday isn’t as fruitful as they had hoped as they come back to their building empty handed. Still, no presence of Bongshik anywhere and no useful responses from the internet. Renjun begins to see Jeno’s deepening worry, but he also sees that Jeno is holding himself back from saying too much—even now as they talk on the phone about their itinerary for today.

It’s still early morning, way too early for Renjun to be awake but he sends Jeno the location of the nearby animal shelter that they’re supposed to go to today and gets a prompt response. The anxiety that is palpable in Jeno’s text message made Renjun decide to ask if he can call him and call him he allows.

“Sorry, I didn’t want to bother you with my worrying but—”

“Jeno, please don’t apologize for feeling something. It’s totally fine to freak out occasionally, and I’m helping you right? You can rant to me anytime you want, just not at ass o’clock because I won’t wake up.”

He hears Jeno smile through the phone. “Thank you, really—I know I’ve been saying this a lot but thank you.”

“You know,” Renjun tries to distract him, his hands working on making Amber’s breakfast as he has his phone lodged in between his ear and his shoulder, “you’re really quite different from what I thought you’d be.” This reminds Renjun of when he used to comfort Jaemin when he had been studying and taking the bar exam.

That seems to have distracted Jeno from worrying. “Really?” He asks.

“Yeah, I thought you were the type to never say thank you to anyone but look at you—dropping gratitude left and right with every breath I take.”

Jeno takes it lightheartedly, laughing along with Renjun as Renjun sets down Amber’s bowl of food. “I have that impression on people.” Jeno explains. “A lot of business partners have told me that I look intimidating—which, I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or not… but I guess that’s why I wanted to work at the PR department too? I don’t meet with any board members…”

Renjun hums thoughtfully as he sits down for his own breakfast, just some kimchi egg fried rice. “There’s this Chinese saying,” he says, “that someone might be cold on the outside first—but upon getting to know them, they get warmer like ice melting. In that case, the people who seem scary at first tend to be the people that you get along with the best.”

Renjun only hears Jeno’s breathing.

“And, to be fair, I think I proved that saying—with you.”

Jeno makes an interested hum through the static of the phone call. Renjun waits for his response with bated breathing.

“You’re saying we’re friends now?” Jeno asks, almost teasingly and Renjun panics as he tries to pacify the situation. See, if Jeno becomes weirded out by his familiarity—it’s sure to cost Renjun his job. So he fumbles with his words in order to save his ass.

“I’m just kidding,” Jeno says, and Renjun’s heart rate drops back down to normal. “We’re friends now, even if you know… we work together, I think it’s nice that we’re friends now.”

“You don’t think that this is just my early ploy to be friendly with my boss so I can rise to a promotion quicker?”

“Is that it?”

“No!” Renjun laughs, and hearing Jeno laugh with him is relieving too. “I’m just kidding, I’ll see you later okay?”

“Wait—are you going to leave Amber alone too today?”

“Yeah… But she’s completely behaved when I leave her, except for when you know, she lets Bongshik in and hides her from me until she can sneak out with no traces.”

Renjun hopes that the mention of Bongshik can make Jeno smile, but he hears instead a deep sigh and a release. “Can you bring Amber with you? We can walk her out today with us to the shelter… if you’d like.”

“Really? I thought you didn’t like Amber.” Amber has finished her breakfast and is looking at Renjun with a curious gaze, her ears twitching at the mention of her name and with the thought that she’s being called, Amber runs right over to him, smacking her snout against Renjun’s leg.

Renjun laughs as he crouches down to pet the Samoyed, and Jeno explains his side with embarrassment. “No! I can never. It’s just… I’m more allergic to dog fur than I am allergic to cat fur? That’s why I was trying hard not to breathe in her fur during our first meeting…”

“What?”

🐶🐱

Renjun learns through that phone call that Jeno is allergic to both cat and dog fur. Which is _beyond_ Renjun’s understanding… why is he even taking care of a cat in the first place and why does he want to hang out with Amber despite the fact that it can trigger his allergic reaction? Renjun isn’t ready to lose his job because his pet dog caused his boss to go into anaphylactic shock.

But Jeno tells him that Bongshik is a rescue cat, and he diligently takes his allergy meds in order to be around her. As for being around Amber for the day, Renjun suggested that he wears a facemask for extra measure—Renjun wants to make sure Jeno’s safety more than anything.

That’s how he finds himself outside their apartment building, sitting on a bench with Amber on a leash and bag full of stuff that Amber might need during their walk to the shelter. He figures that it’s not a long walk, but they might stop for a few moments in the case that Amber finds something interesting and takes her time sniffing around trees. Plus, they also still have to look for Bongshik through it all as well.

He’s scrolling through his Facebook account, replying to messages that might be relevant to finding Bongshik as Amber sits right next to him when Jeno arrives. He senses someone coming close to him so he looks up from his phone, and his eyes couldn’t help but travel from Jeno’s head to toe.

His blond hair is unkempt again today, thick glasses perched atop his high nose that’s covered with a facemask just like Renjun recommended. He’s wearing a white shirt, loose enough for it to be cool but tight enough that it hugs his body in all the right places. The only bad thing about his outfit has to be the basketball shorts he arrives in but nonetheless—it has Renjun staring.

If his boss is this attractive, he really can’t lie to himself.

“Hi,” Jeno greets, eye smile flashing behind rimmed glasses. “Did you wait long? I had to go and buy the facemask, sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Renjun says as he stands to full attention. Amber yips excitedly next to him, her tail wagging with so much force that it’s whisking air with every movement. _Yeah,_ Renjun understands how that feels seeing Jeno like this. “I wasn’t waiting long anyway—shall we go?”

Jeno seems distracted when Renjun talks to him, and when he notices where he’s looking, Renjun understands. He tugs Amber so that she walks closer to him, until she’s right in front of Jeno who looks surprised yet pleasantly delighted at the sight of the excited dog. “Do you want to say hi to her first?”

As if Renjun has opened the gates of heaven for him, Jeno nods and his cheeks bunch up that Renjun knows he’s smiling. It takes Jeno no less than a second to kneel down in front of Amber and pet her right behind her ears, cooing as she presses her head down against where Jeno is touching her. Amber has always been so friendly to others, but it still warms Renjun’s heart that Jeno is interacting with her like this—allergies and all at stake.

“Hi there, I’m Jeno—yes, it’s so nice to meet you.” There’s a lilt to Jeno’s voice that Renjun is sure he hasn’t heard before, it reminds of the voice moms use on their babies and it makes Renjun chuckle as he watches the scene unfold before him. He never thought that his neighbor would be a dog lover too.

It takes a while before he can separate Amber from Jeno, because Amber decided that Jeno is now another human that she likes and has splayed her entire weight on his lap just like that. Jeno doesn’t seem to mind the Samoyed’s clingy nature and lets it happen. They only start to leave when Renjun reminds him that they still have to go to the shelter.

Now, Jeno is holding Amber’s leash as they walk side by side next to each other, the newbie dog lover is obviously having the time of his life walking Amber and Renjun’s taking pictures of them to save it for a rainy day.

Then, Renjun remembers something.

“Jeno,” he calls out to Jeno who’s walking a few steps ahead of him. Jeno turns to look back at him, halting in his tracks as Renjun catches up to stand beside him, scrolling furiously through his phone.

“Yeah?” Jeno asks curiously, peering into the phone screen that Renjun is offering up for him to look at.

“I just remembered that I had this picture—so I wanted to show you…”

It’s the photo of Amber and Bongshik cuddled up together in Renjun’s apartment. He has forgotten that he even has this saved still, and when he looks up at Jeno with an expectant smile on his face, he isn’t disappointed by the reaction he gets.

Jeno takes the phone into his hands, handing Renjun Amber’s leash as he zooms in on the photo of his cat and of Renjun’s dog. There’s the fondest smile on his face, the glimpse of longing peaks behind his expression and the resolute inhale that Jeno takes tells Renjun almost everything. “I miss her.” Jeno says after a moment, handing Renjun his phone back.

Renjun slides his phone into his back pocket and nods, interlocking his arm that’s not holding Amber’s leash with Jeno’s arm. “Then, let’s go find her.”

🐶🐱

The shelter is a few blocks away from their apartment building. Amber gets overly excited when she senses the presence of other animals and is running around in circles until Renjun tells her to sit and behave. She follows him obediently, but the wagging of her tail doesn’t stop.

That’s why Renjun’s left to look after Amber by the lobby as Jeno goes into the shelter to check if they have Bongshik. Renjun hopes for the best, all he hopes for is that Jeno enters through the door he exited with an armful of cat.

He has given Amber some water and some treats in the meanwhile, the person behind the counter talks to him about dog care and Renjun enthusiastically engages in the conversation. He always loves to talk about his dog.

The door where Jeno disappeared from with a staff is pushed open, and Renjun is standing on his toes in anticipation—but all that comes out is Jeno, his head down but thanking the staff that guided him nevertheless. He’s smiling, but in the short amount of time that Renjun has gotten to know Jeno, he sees that hint of sadness lining the crescent moon eyes.

When Jeno comes back to him, Renjun’s inclined to give him a hug but he halts himself halfway through raising his arms for one. Amber beats him to it though, she runs up to him and stands on her hind legs, tongue hanging out the side of her mouth as she welcomes the solemn Jeno back.

“Nothing?” He asks, settling instead for giving him a pat on the back. Jeno accepts this as he rubs Amber’s head.

“Nothing. They accepted the missing posters though and said they’ll be on the lookout.” Jeno explains just as Amber comes to lick him on the face. It makes Jeno laugh, and Renjun squeezes the junction where his shoulder meets his neck.

“That’s okay, we still have a couple more shelters around the neighborhood. Surely, we’ll find her in one of them.”

“I hope so too.”

🐶🐱

They had to drop Amber back at Renjun’s apartment because they decided to make more out of their day and visit the shelters that are a little faraway from their neighborhood. Jeno offers that they take his car, so that Amber can still come with them but it’s almost time for Amber’s lunch and her afternoon nap time so they have to drop her off. Jeno seems to not want to part with Amber.

Now, they’re sitting inside a convenience store, with cheap food and instant ramyeon for lunch. Since Jeno paid last time, Renjun insisted to pay this time. Renjun would have opted for something fancier or something that’s more of Jeno’s taste, but Jeno tells him that it’s up to him what to eat since he’ll be paying this time around. And really, Renjun has been craving for kimbap and instant ramyeon.

Jeno doesn’t seem to be complaining about the change of palate and confesses that this is his first time eating _inside_ a convenience store. He has had his fair share of convenience store runs but only to buy something like junk food or some beer cans but he has never actually had a meal inside a convenience store.

If Jeno has showed him an entire new world with the restaurant, Renjun feels satisfied at the thought of showing Jeno an entirely new world too.

“So, how long have you had Amber?” Jeno asks curiously, halfway through shoving noodles into his mouth. He’s blowing into the noodles to cool them down, pink lips pouted to direct the air. Renjun has to admit he looks cute, at least, even just to himself.

Renjun takes a large gulp from his bottle of water. “Just for a few months. I actually found her out on the streets before taking her in. It’s been true love since.” He explains with a smile on his face, remembering the exact feeling he had when he finally adopted Amber.

Jeno smiles at him. “It’s nice to have a pet around, right?”

“It’s only been for a few months, but yeah—it’s nice to have a pet around, it’s like I’ll never really be lonely or alone no matter how much I think that? Amber really gives me comfort, and she never complains about my cuddles so that’s one of the best things about her too, I think.”

“That’s lovely,” Jeno says, and Renjun hears the melancholy in his voice that he can’t help but be inclined to prod further.

“How about you? How long have you had Bongshik?” Renjun asks, thumbing around the rim of his cup of ramyeon. It’s a personal conversation, and Renjun has just opened up to Jeno about the thing most important to him right next to family. Though, he doesn’t think he minds.

Jeno’s looking at his hands on the table, and Renjun takes note of how he breaks eye contact. “She’s been with me since I was really young… maybe around 14? And she’s never really left until now.”

“I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay,” Jeno inhales, then bites into his kimbap as if to stop himself from getting emotional. It works. “You’re helping me look for her, there is no reason for you to say sorry.”

“Still,” Renjun insists, “it must be really lonely for you now… she’s been with you for so long, I’ve only had Amber for a few short months, but I’d be devastated if she ever gets lost.”

“It’s lonely,” Jeno confirms, “but the moment you brought out Amber? It got a little bit easier to deal with. Maybe I should get a dog once we find Bongshik?”

They laugh about it after, with Renjun gently reminding Jeno that he’s allergic to dog fur and Jeno tells him that allergies have never stopped him before and they will not stop him now.

Renjun doesn’t stop him after that.

🐶🐱

Going to different shelters with Jeno means that they have a lot of travel times in between. In the end, Jeno brings his car for convenience and Renjun confesses that he has never learned how to drive. Jeno thinks it’s atrocious that he doesn’t know such a basic life skill and promises to teach him one day.

He has only known Jeno for a few short weeks, including that time when he had just been a neighbor to him but Renjun is finding it surprisingly easy to tell him his stories. He doesn’t know why that is or if it’s okay if he feels like this.

It’s Sunday today, and on Monday, they go back to being the boss and the employee. Renjun has to remind himself of these differences and of these factors that affect his connection with Jeno but he saves those worries for Monday—for now, for today, he enjoys Jeno’s company.

The fourth and final shelter they go to also tells them that there hasn’t been any lost cats around the area. They tell them that it’s more than likely that Bongshik might have been mistaken for a stray and they should look for her in their neighborhood. So they go back to their neighborhood, empty-handed as they make the walk back from the parking lot.

“I’m really sorry about today.” Renjun says as they get into the elevator, he’s holding a bag of Ddeokbokki for dinner and Jeno has already placed order for his own meal from the nearby chicken place.

“It’s okay.” Jeno says, watching as the numbers on the little screen changes. “You did your best.” There’s a pause, Renjun fiddles with the plastic bag in his hands and Jeno suddenly remembers something.

“Your project,” he says and Renjun is on his toes waiting for what comes next. He has almost forgotten about his project, it’s good that he didn’t forget to send the soft copy to the work e-mails though. “We start working on it next week, so I don’t want you worrying about Bongshik after this day okay? You have to focus.”

Although Renjun thinks it might be hard not to think of the missing cat and its lonely owner, Renjun appreciates the gesture. After all, this project is what makes or breaks the beginning of his career at the Aurora Hotel. And so far, he’s liking the workload—liking the people.

He nods, looking at Jeno with mirth in his eyes. “Yes sir, I’ll keep that in mind.”

Jeno’s reaction to being called sir is almost comical. His eyes go wide, there’s a confused sound coming from him and Renjun just knows he has forgotten their boss-employee relationship for a quick minute. “Right,” Jeno says once he has composed himself, “don’t forget.”

There’s comfortable silence in the elevator, just the buzzing of the machine filling the air like white noise. Renjun doesn’t remember the last time he has felt this comfortable with someone since Jaemin, but he doesn’t despise it. Although there are so many things to think about now regarding everything he’s ever thought about Jeno during this weekend, Renjun enjoys the little happiness getting to know new people brings.

The elevator door opens, and it’s almost time for them to part. The doors open to reveal a cat sitting in front of them, as if she has been waiting for them to come back all along.

“Bongshik?!” It’s Jeno that reacts first, leaping out of the elevator to scoop the cat into his arms. It takes a few seconds before Renjun registers the shock. He steps out of the elevator with wide eyes, realizing how after all this time—Bongshik knows how to find her way back home.

The scenario before him is a sight to behold, there’s Jeno nuzzling his face against Bongshik, peppering her with so many kisses as the cat cuddles back to him, a satisfied look in her face and being back home with her owner.

It warms Renjun’s heart to witness the reunion.

“Where have you been?” Jeno asks her and Bongshik just meows right back at him. “That’s okay, that’s fine, the most important thing is that you’re home. You’re okay.”

Bongshik meows again, sitting comfortably in Jeno’s arms as Renjun reaches out to pet her in between her ears. “You made us worry, little one.” Renjun tells her, and Bongshik nuzzles her head against Renjun’s palm. “Amber missed you too so much, you know?”

Renjun drops his hands from Bongshik and turns to Jeno, a smile blooms in his face—but it turns into laughter once they make eye contact. “All this time… she knows how to get back home… she’s really so smart.”

“I know…” Jeno agrees, and if Renjun looks closely, he can see the hint of tears of joy in Jeno’s eyes. Then again, Renjun doesn’t have enough courage to look closely.

Jeno coos at Bongshik for a few moments, Renjun petting her and playfully scolding her for going out all on her own until Jeno addresses him again. Renjun’s attention is undivided on Jeno now.

“Hey, Renjun?”

“Yeah?” He tilts his head to the side curiously.

“Thanks for helping me look for her.” Renjun doesn’t know how many times Jeno has expressed his gratitude for him but it doesn’t lose its sentiment. It’s genuine.

Renjun rubs the back of his nape, inhaling sharply through his teeth. “I didn’t even _help_ find her, she found her own way back.” He thinks about the Facebook post he now has to take down, or at least, has to inform people that Bongshik is now safe and sound.

“No, still—you helped me with the flyers, the shelters and everything. That means a lot to me.”

“It’s no problem, really. Don’t worry about it, Jeno.”

Jeno smiles at him, nodding as he holds the cat in his hands. It’s Renjun that speaks again. “Well, I have to go inside now… Ddeokbokki’s getting cold and Amber is waiting for me. You should feed her something and schedule a trip to the vet to make sure she’s alright. See you tomorrow?”

He starts to make tentative steps backwards to his door, when Jeno pipes up with a suggestion that Renjun can’t refuse… even if he tried, he really doesn’t want to.

“Do you want to… stay for dinner? I can order more food for us… you can bring Amber over too, I think they deserve a reunion after everything.” Jeno is shy when he speaks, almost meek and unsure of the risk he’s taking, of the leap he’s doing.

But Renjun doesn’t disappoint.

“Oh well,” he says with a shrug, it makes Jeno laugh. “If you insist.” 

**Author's Note:**

> aaah it's finally over, thank you for reading up to here. it's been fun writing this, and i hope that the prompter enjoyed this little thing :) thank u to the friends that supported me throughout this journey, ily all


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